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Monday, February 27, 2012

Fr. Marcel Guarnizo: The Latest Priest They Love to Hate

Fr. Marcel Guarnizo, the associate pastor at St. John Neumann in Gaithersburg, is all over the internet for denying Communion to an active lesbian named Barbara at the funeral of her mother last Saturday. It would be interesting to see a video of the funeral. The mother apparently was supportive of her daughter's bad choices - sad but not surprising. So many parents would rather enable their children's sin and risk their loss of heaven rather than than risk alienation from their children in this world.

Obviously the daughter had to be flaunting her relationship. Otherwise, how would Father know she was a lesbian? Was she there holding hands with her lover? Did she talk at the wake about how grateful she was that her mother accepted their relationship? Was the "eulogy" for her mother (when the priest walked out) really a celebration of lesbianism? "Gays" tend to be narcissistic and it wouldn't surprise me at all if the entire funeral became all about celebrating the disordered relationship.

The comments on blogs discussing this have been the typical bash-the-Church, Jesus would never be so mean, Father is so judgmental and hate-filled, etc. ad nauseum. These folks have deluded themselves into believing that Jesus is the Pillsbury Doughboy waiting to give them all cinnamon buns on Judgment Day. That God might actually expect people to avoid the seven deadly sins or go to hell seems completely alien to them.

One wonders whether the folks who are so quick to condemn Fr. Guarnizo would expect him to be silent and do nothing if the lesbian had brought a can of black spray paint and started defacing all the statues in the Church. Such an act is NOTHING compared to the sacrilege of receiving Jesus, Body-Blood-Soul-Divinity, in the state of mortal sin. And since everybody in the Church apparently knew about this woman's lifestyle, the scandal would also have been mortally sinful and on the priest's head for allowing it. The Bible is crystal clear on the responsibility of the shepherds to blow the warning trumpet.

I want to publicly thank Fr. Marcel Guarnizo for his courage. We have all seen the hateful retaliation and "jamming" (viciously attacking) against anyone who disagrees with the homosexual agenda. (I have personally experienced it often in blog comments with the writers hoping I die a miserable death because of my "hate.") Fr. Guarnizo is in the crosshairs at present. Pray for him and you might consider going to the parish website and leaving a message of encouragement. Fr. Guarnizo speaks the truth against some of the greatest moral evils of our time. He deserves our thanks and admiration. Please fast and pray for him this Lent for those who vilify him. May they come to understand that he is trying to save them from the abyss.

I have never, nor will I ever, viciously attack anyone. I simply look to Jesus for my guidance and am secure in the knowledge that he is love, that he loves all people, and that you have simply closed your heart to the reality that people who are gay are just people like you. Some are good people and some are not, but there is no real difference except that a certain percent of the population is "wired" differently when it comes to sexual attraction. Peaceful and prayerful persuasion is my continuing objective. I don't have a Google Account, so don't know how to post my name.

Right, it's a sin to love someone of the same sex (which is not what the bible originally said..study your primary sources people)....but it is OK to sodomize young boys and lie about it. Sure, I get it.

No real priest would do this. I can remember when the Catholic church used to call itself the church for everybody? When did you stop being human much less Christians?

You have got to be one of the most self righteous, confused, unintelligent, bigoted people on the face of this Earth. And sadly, you are the one who truly needs prayers said for you. God is not about hate, as you are. Here's something you may want to revisit...

Psalm 103:8-12

'The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.'

YOUR God is forgiving and merciful. Try following him. You may just feel love instead of your misplaced hostility.

I found a link to this post through another website, and I really have to wonder how you could miss the point so spectacularly. Gay or straight, a woman's mother died, and regardless of her relationship with another woman, it's insulting and childish for someone to make someone else's funeral (particularly one they're running) about them and their own agenda. No matter how you slice it, that's way more disrespectful than anyone holding someone's hand at a funeral.

How are you and Father any different than the hateful freaks known as the Westboro Baptist Church? You know---the ones who show up at funerals to scream, God hates fags."

"Judge not lest ye be judged." Are you and Father familiar with that piece of advice? How exactly was this person "flaunting" her relationship? Was her partner at the funeral to be supportive in her time of grief or were they having an intimate moment in the pew or even on the deceased mother's casket? And why exactly is anyone's private life the business of you and Father Guarzino?

Are gay people really more narcisstic that Father Guarzino who used a funeral to render a verdict on both the deceased and her daughter? Is a funeral really the time to make a political statement or to publically humiliate a grieving woman?

Wow...unbelievable...I came across your blog through a friend and I can't believe the things I read. At a time in a woman's life when she is the most heartbroken, a time when she needs the guidance and support of her church more than any other, the priest, and therefore the church, turned their backs on her. For you to show such adament support of the father's choice to shun this woman weakens my faith in humanity. She is a human, a PERSON, just like me, just like you. Her only "sin" was loving someone you think is wrong to love. What if the priest turned his back on the divorced members of the congregation? Would you still support him with such vigor? And although I myself am not gay, I have many friends who are and they DO NOT make everything about themselves and DO NOT turn everything into a gay pride celebration. Please, in the future, just try to imagine yourself in the situation. Just try to imagine someone hating you just because you're you. I will pray for you.

Are you saying that because it was a funeral, the priest had the obligation to give the daughter a sacrilegious Communion? She made a choice to turn the funeral into a public statement. It wasn't the priest. All she had to do was remain in the pew at Communion.

And, yes, if a couple, divorced and remarried outside the Church, came to Communion and they are known as publicly living in that situation, the priest should refuse them Communion as well.

Out of respect for the Church and the priest the daughter should have refrained from going to Communion. Why did she put the priest in that position at her mom's funeral? Or was it an opportunity for a gay activist to (once again) take a public action to slam the Church?

It's sad to see something like this happen at such a stressful time, but it wasn't the priest's doing. Flaunting sin is no vitue.

There is such a things as right and wrong and although this situation was unfortunate, I am happy to see that a statement has been made. I do not know the way in which Father came to know of this womans situation but I suspect it must have been rather obvious that she was actively not in a state of grace. There is no one who should be allowed communion if it is known that they are in a state of mortal sin. Communion for a Catholic is Literally the Body, Blood , Soull and Divinity of Jesus Christ. It is not some sign of togetherness etc... The church is very much concerned about keeping everyone happy and not offending anyone. That is why we are in the sorry state we are in with Abotion, gay marriage etc... I do not believe that God cares about all of these opinions. He has His laws and those that love Him and OBEY Him in the end will be saved. Others will have a surprise that what they "felt" was right is not all that important when you are standing before God. Anonymous

How do you know that Barbara is a gay activist? Was she waving a rainbow flag during the service? She went to Communion probably because most other priests who behave like respectful human beings have given her Communion in the past. She did not expect to be treated this way at her own mother's funeral.

On a sightly different note I am curious how and why our entire societyseems ready and willing to change its very structure (gay marriage) when there has NEVER been ONE bit of good evidence/research that points to sexual orientation as being innate. Many people wrongly assume that this has been concluded and people by and large will say that ofcourse people are born gay. Not one of you could produce any good science to back that up

Anyone flaunting their lifestyle is an activist. Why would anyone know that two women living together were lesbians unless they let everybody know? And why do they want everybody to know unless they are "out and proud?"

Uh---Sorry, Mary Ann, but the Archdiocese apparently agrees that Father acted improperly:

In a written statement, the Archdiocese of Washington conceded that Father Marcel had acted improperly, saying, "Any issues regarding the suitability of an individual to receive communion should be addressed by the priest with that person in a private, pastoral setting."

Do you honestly believe that Jesus would have denied that woman Communion and would have denied the deceased her final blessing the way Father Marcel Guarnizo did? If you do believe that, you have a lot to learn about the love and acceptance of Jesus Christ. He would not have turned anyone away, and he most certainly would not have turned someone away who was grieving and at their most vulnerable. Father Marcel Guarnizo and any supporters of his reprehensible actions should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.

Sorry not to fall at the feet of the Archdiocese in humble worship, but Cardinal Wuerl has consistently ignored Canon Law 915 despite many contacts from Rome urging the bishops in the U.S. to enforce it. It doesn't surprise me that a bishop who acts very much like a politician would rather criticize his spiritual son than risk the wrath of the "gay" community.

You're as big a hypocritical coward as Fr. Guarnizo, who disgustingly turned the funeral rite into a hate-fest... calling the grieving daughter a "sinner" - I guess Fr. Guarnizoor - and you miss hypocrite - have he forgotten that WE'RE ALL SINNERS.

Jesus NEVER said a single thing about homosexuality - but he spoke volumes about compassion and community.

Just wondering how many child molesting priests has Fr. Guarnizo given communion to?

I was a lifelong Catholic until the church's true colors of cowardice, ignorance and division started flying in all their pathetic glory. People like you and Fr. Guarnizo are the reason the church is dying.

Start worrying about feeding the poor, clothing the naked and visiting people in prison, rather than passing judgement on others who are simply living an authentic life.

Besides, the Catholic Church is littered with the WORST SINNERS OF ALL - HYPOCRITES - who Jesus says AREN'T REALLY CHRISTIANS AT ALL - no matter what uniform they wear - PRETENDING to give to the church, but forgetting justice and mercy:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others." (Matthew 23:23)

You pick and choose your Bible passages, anyway - I'm sure you eat pork, wear cloth of two different kinds of material and routinely let disrespectful children live, rather than put them to death - ALL "ABOMINATIONS" according to the Bible.

Take a history class, you ignorant bigot and find out the context in which ANCIENT PEOPLE WROTE ABOUT THEIR RITUALS.

Like the slave holders once pointed to the bible to justify slavery, you are just the LATEST snake who uses the Bible to divide and harass people - gays are just the latest "acceptable" group for you to kick.

I have no pretense that you will ever change your evil ways. Just go back to your hypocrisy, and I'll join the MILLIONS of people all over the globe that will NEVER DARKEN THE DOOR TO ANOTHER CATHOLIC CHURCH AGAIN because of it's ugliness and hypocrisy. You see I actually believe in Jesus -NOT his shameful, pretend followers.

I always use comment moderation to weed out spam and obscenities. But I usually let people like you vent even when it's a screed. And while you're calling me a bigot and judgmental and hate-filled, etc. perhaps you should read your own comment. Wow! is all I can say. You sure hate the Church and all the people in it. Lions next?

To all of the commenters who are criticizing Fr Guarnizo and attacking Mrs. Kreitzer, and sanctimoneously quoting Bible verses, here are two additional verses YOU may want to revisit:

Leviticus 18:22You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

Leviticus 20:13If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them.

I ask you - can the Word of God be any clearer? God certainly expects all people to be merciful and gracious. People with homosexual orientations are children of God and deserve to be treated with forgiveness and mercy, but to condone their lifestyle is to condone a sinful act, and there is no way around it. Being a Christian is not always easy, and all of us have weaknesses in different areas that make us stuggle in this life. But to approach Holy Communion in such an obvious state of mortal sin is a sacrilege in the Catholic Church. If Fr. G was absolutely certain that Barbara was an active homosexual who had not confessed her sin and vowed to sin no more, then it would have been a cause of public scandal to give her Holy Communion. In no way can this be compared to the actions of the Westboro Baptist Church members. That is harrassment; Fr. G's action was simply upholding his priestly obligation with dignity - not an act of "bigotry." This world of ours has strayed so far away from God, that people are accepting anything and everything in the name of "love," "acceptance," and "compassion." What a slippery slope we're on!

To the anonymous person who stated that "it's a sin to love someone of the same sex (which is not what the bible originally said..study your primary sources people)but it is OK to sodomize young boys and lie about it" - that remark reflects an ignorance on your part. There have always been sinners in the Church, and there always will be. Just because some members commit grave sins does not mean that their conduct is an official teaching of the Church.

To Mrs. Kreitzer, God bless you in your writing apostolate, which I enjoy reading every day. Your writings help me to think about and live my Catholic faith. Always remember the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount: Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. (Matthew 5:11 - for those who wish to look it up.)

The book of Leviticus, and let's not forget Deuteronomy while we're at it, is full of advice that is irrelevant in the world today. So even if you think breaking those "laws" is a sin, then I rate it on the same level of "sin" as wearing my poly/cotton blend shirts (Lev. 19:19) or shaving (19:27). I'm sure my kids are hoping that I don't enforce Leviticus 20:9. Considering that almost 30% of children are now born out of wedlock, the pews are going to get mighty empty if we start paying attention to Deuteronomy 23:2. Or we could just follow the advice of Deuteronomy Chapter 17 and kill everyone with a different religion and that should sort the whole thing out. But as for me, I'll follow the Golden Rule. I really don't think I can go wrong there.

How about the New Testament? Do you want to throw out Paul's letter to the Romans as well? This statement is pretty clear: "Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and the men gave up natural intercourse with women and burned with lust for one another. Men did shameful things with men and thus received in their own persons the penalty for their perversity." (Romans 1: 26-27)

You can play all you want with the Bible, but the fact is homosexual activity is condemned. Acting on homosexual inclinations is sinful. We are all called to repent and turn away from our sinful urges.

I was curious what prompted 27 comments and I'm fascinated to discover that it is the usual case of pro-perversion ranters who in support of obsessive sinfulness attack others as intolerant.

You are supposed to be intolerant of sin, but not of sinners. But Jesus said to the woman taken in adultery "Go and sin no more." She was forgiven but the forgiveness was conditional. That's the difference.

These folks want forgiveness without repentance. That's not Christian and it isn't what Jesus offers. The sad thing is that the Church is led by such weak bishops that a courageous priest exercising his ministry is not fully supported by his bishop. Shame!

Mary is to be commended for allowing these jackals to post their venom on the message but I suppose they don't realize how it reveals how ultimately immoral and un-Christian they truly are.

Have you considered that the priest really was sick and left the altar with an emergency call of nature. There is a virulent bug going around that ravaged our local nursing home here and kept everyone in isolation for several weeks. I'll continue to give the priest the benefit of the doubt.

ah, baseless and unfounded speculation used to substantiate your own hatered - how christian! because you know, all gays are constantly 'flaunting' their sexuality by the mere fact that they live and breathe!

maybe you should attempt to look at the actual reported facts - a woman lost her mother and was treated, not only with disrespect, but actual contempt. THEREIN lies the true sin.

Interesting how the people trapped in perversion develop fellow traveling enablers who attack those that would point out that the active decision to continue in perversion is seriously sinful.

No one can judge the condition of someone's immortal soul but God, but we are called by scripture to correct those in manifest, public, and serious sin since they are giving scandal. Those that publicly enable them and make excuses for them are also clearly in sin since they become accomplices in the sinful actions of another. Throwing around words like hate, when only objectively true statements have been made is a sign of a seriously disorder mentality. Sorry Anonymous, whoever you are, a trip to confession and a lot of serious spiritual reflection seems called for. Matt 18:15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

You vicious bigot. I do hope that one day, ehn you are in mourning, when you have lost someone you love, you shall be treated with equal venom and cruelty. I wish that on that very day you will face similar insult.

The fact is that your Christian love is nothing but spiritual battery and sheer viciousness.

I cannot believe that this post has generated such unbalanced thinking.

Nobody is bound to remain in a Church that they feel either abuses them or neglects them.

Surely, they should stay if they know what the Church teaches to be true, or they could leave to join other so-called churches that offer them whatever choice they are seeking.

The Catholic Church is a Church that holds her doctrines and dogmas to be unchanging. Why, create more pain and hurt in staying within a Church that doesn't offer you what you want?

To know and understand what is required of us as Catholics is pretty easy. If not, I am sure we could pick up a book or speak to a priest to get any confusions ironed out. And again, if it is too much, there are about 30,000 other denominations to choose from.

I will pray for all who are misguided by human emotions and nothing else.

Mary, your rather cold sentiments are very traditionally catholic. Congrats on 2000 and 12 years of blood stained history. No Mary, the earth is NOT the center of the universe. It DOES revolve around the sun. Just like the villains of the women's rights movement and the minority rights movement. Fifty years from now history will look at you and people like you as un-Godly villains doing the devil's work. You are carrying on the proud catholic tradition of ignorance and hate.

Thank you, Mary Ann. I am concerned that Canon Law expert Ed Peters has said that Father misapplied 916. However, I am perplexed as to how Father could be at fault here, and am writing to Mr. Peters to ask for a concrete example of how this law is ever to be enforced if not against this woman. It is worth considering the letter and spirit of this law as well. How could Father NOT err on the side of protecting the sacrament and the People of God from scandal?

Thank you Mary for standing up for Father Marcel & the Catholic faith. I actually belong to Father Marcel's parish and he is such a good priest. I literally feel like I am in the presence of a Saint when I am around him, especially during confession. If he is forced to leave St. John Neumann, I will be really upset. It makes me so mad that this woman still considers herself a Catholic! I mean she obviously doesn’t know very much about what it means to be Catholic. If she did, she wouldn’t have even tried to walk up and receive communion. She is protestant and doesn’t realize it; she just picks and chooses whatever she wants to believe in. No one is forcing her to be a Catholic, if she doesn’t believe in the teachings, she should go elsewhere. For her soul, I do wish that she stays with the Catholic Church and realize that she needs to make a lifestyle change. Sure, everyone wants to be happy but being happy here on Earth is not as important as being happy in Heaven for eternity. Also, I am so tired of people saying that Catholics hate gay people. That is simply not true; we do not hate gay people. If we hated them, we would just let them sin because we wouldn’t care about their souls but the fact that we bring it to their attention that being in a homosexual relationship is a sin means we want them to change so they can be in a state of grace! I feel Father Marcel was doing her a favor. Oh well, I am sure some people will hate on my post too, it seems like no matter how much you try to explain it, some people will never understand and that is so frustrating!

Thanks for your post and the link to Fr. Guarnizo's parish. I was very glad to send him a quick note of encouragement. In my opinion, he had no choice but to deny her communion or risk assisting in sacrilage. At every Catholic wedding, funeral, etc the priest has explained to all present what is required to be properly disposed to receive the Eucahrist. If she approached anyway, she was openly taunting him, daring him to deny her Holy Communion. I believe such stress would make a holy many ill. My prayers are with him and all involved in this incident.

Obviously, Fr. Guarnizo was set up. He has my respect and prayers. His cowardly superiors proved themselves unworthy of any respect but very much in need of prayers as they will be judged for injustice and a source of scandal.

Mrs. Kreitzer,Let me commend you for your great civility and charity in dealing with abusive comments from riff-raff who show nothing but abysmal ignorance and hatred. There is too much of this rubbish in the world and it is out of place in a blog like yours. The oposition doesn't allow for opposite views (like the Washington Post's report of the affair). Hatred against Our Lord and His Church shouldn't be given another outlet.

Readers need to keep in mind that those who support same sex normalization really don't have much of anything else to do. They troll the internet looking for sites to bash to promote their agenda. Some of them have multiple screen names, so this time they can post as the aggrieved homosexual, then post as the supportive mother, then post as the outraged friend, etc. They are really a tiny fraction of the population, but their internet presence is enormous because the effort they devote to legalizing same sex "marriage" is more than most people devote to their religion.

The link to Fr. Guarnizo's parish seems to have been disabled. When I clicked "submit," the screen turned white, but never said "your message has been submitted." You can email him, via the parish, here: info@saintjohnneumann.org

Love in the Ruins

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Policy on Comments

Comments are moderated. Please be respectful. Argument (in the classical sense) is welcome, however crude, or obscene remarks will not be posted. I am more lenient with ad hominem attacks since so many people these days don't seem to know how to engage in a discussion without them.